System method and apparatus for borehole imaging

Abstract

A method of imaging an earth formation comprises identifying engagement data from an engagement sensor. The engagement data corresponds to an engagement of the instrumented engagement element with a borehole in the earth formation. The method includes identifying rotation data from a rotation sensor. The rotation data corresponds to a rotational orientation of the engagement data with respect to the borehole. The method includes mapping the engagement data to the rotation data to generate oriented engagement data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of imaging an earth formation, comprising:
 identifying engagement data from an engagement sensor, the engagement data corresponding to an engagement with a borehole in the earth formation;   identifying rotation data from a rotation sensor, the rotation data corresponding to a rotational orientation of the engagement data with respect to the borehole; and   mapping the engagement data to the rotation data to generate oriented engagement data.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement sensor is on an instrumented engagement element of a downhole tool, and wherein the engagement data corresponds to an engagement of the instrumented engagement element with the borehole. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement sensor is a force sensor, and the engagement data is force data. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising generating an image of the earth formation associated with the borehole based on the oriented engagement data, wherein the image presents the engagement data with respect to the rotation data and wherein the image illustrates one or more geological features of the earth formation. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein generating the image includes applying a color scale to represent a magnitude of the oriented engagement data. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a geological feature of the earth formation based on mapping the oriented engagement data to a global reference frame. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein determining the geological feature of the earth formation includes:
 defining a data feature corresponding to a threshold change in magnitude of the oriented engagement data; and   identifying one or more instances of the data feature associated with a plurality of successive revolutions of a downhole tool.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the geological feature is a crack or fracture in the earth formation. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein mapping the oriented engagement data to the global reference frame includes mapping the oriented engagement data to one or more of an azimuth of the borehole, an inclination of the borehole, and a latitude and longitude of the borehole. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the oriented engagement data to a drilling device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the engagement data and the rotation data are each taken while drilling with a downhole tool. 
     
     
         12 . A method of mapping an earth formation, comprising:
 identifying engagement data from an engagement sensor, the engagement data corresponding to an engagement with a borehole in the earth formation;   identifying depth data, the depth data corresponding to a depth of the engagement data with respect to the borehole; and   mapping the engagement data to the depth data to generate mapped engagement data.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the engagement sensor is on an instrumented engagement element of a downhole tool, and wherein the engagement data corresponds to an engagement of the instrumented engagement element with the borehole. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising generating an image of the borehole based on the mapped engagement data, wherein the image presents the engagement data with respect to the depth data and wherein the image illustrates one or more geological features of the earth formation. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising determining a borehole feature of the borehole based on mapping the engagement data to the depth data. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the engagement data and the depth data are each taken while drilling with a downhole tool. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising transmitting the mapped engagement data to a drilling device. 
     
     
         18 . A method of imaging an earth formation, comprising:
 identifying engagement data from an engagement sensor, the engagement data corresponding to an engagement with a borehole in the earth formation;   identifying rotation data from a rotation sensor or depth data from a depth sensor, wherein the rotation data corresponds to a rotational orientation of the engagement data with respect to the borehole, and wherein the depth data corresponds to a depth of the engagement data with respect to the borehole;   identifying lithology data from a lithology sensor, wherein the lithology data corresponds to one or more physical properties of the earth formation; and   mapping the engagement data to the lithology data and the rotation data to generate mapped engagement data, or mapping the engagement data to the lithology data and the depth data to generate mapped engagement data.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising generating a virtual core image of the borehole based on the mapped engagement data, wherein the virtual core image illustrates the lithology data with respect to the engagement data and wherein the virtual core image illustrates geological features of the earth formation. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising determining a geological feature of the earth formation based on the mapped engagement data. 
     
     
         21 . A method of determining a geological feature of an earth formation, comprising:
 receiving engagement data from an engagement sensor, wherein the engagement data corresponds to an engagement with a borehole of the earth formation;   defining a data feature in the engagement data; and   determining a geological feature of the earth formation based on identifying a plurality of instances of the data feature that each occur periodically with respect to a rotation of a downhole tool.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the engagement sensor is implemented on an instrumented engagement element of a downhole tool and wherein the engagement data corresponds to an engagement of the instrumented engagement element with the borehole. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the engagement sensor is a force sensor and wherein the engagement data is force data.